Triple homicide: Police stumped as family remains united in three sisters’ murder case
The mother is defending the father, causing the authorities to suspect her too.
KARACHI:
While they insist that the victims’ father is the murderer, police have not come any closer to making an arrest in the case where three sisters were found dead in a water trough in their home.
Initially, they were positive that, once the girls’ mother, Aneesa Bibi, returned from her hometown, she would file a statement implicating her husband, Sher Mohammad, and the case would be settled. However, Aneesa opted to defend her husband, taking the investigation back to square one. Now, she too is a suspect in what the police are certain is a murder case. The chemical examination report is due in two weeks and, if the girls’ test positive for poison or drugs, the police will have something to go on.
The three sisters were found dead in a pond, 2.5 feet deep, inside their house in Orangi Town on Saturday.
Investigators say that they have recorded the statements of at least seven people including the victims’ father, mother, brother, other relatives and neighbours but none of the statements threw anyone in the family, particularly Sher Mohammad, under suspicion.
“We thought the mother’s statement would help us probe the case but that didn’t happen,” DSP Tariq Malik told The Express Tribune. “We are trying to create a rift between the victims’ parents in the hope that they will start talking.”
The officer quoted Aneesa as saying her husband is innocent and was not involved in the murders.
The victims’ brother also told the police that he was asleep when the incident took place while the neighbours and relatives did not seem to have noticed any dispute among the parents, especially over the disability of their daughters.
The police had initially suspected only the father as the mother was out of town. After recording Aneesa’s statement defending their prime suspect, however, they feel she is involved too. DSP Malik said that it appears that the parents planned and executed the murder carefully which is why Aneesa was away when they were killed.
“It appears that it was the father who killed (two of) them because of their affliction with polio,” said the DSP. “However there are two possible reasons for killing the third girl. Firstly, she too had slight symptoms of polio. It is also possible that she saw them murdering the other two.”
The initial examination report confirmed that the girls drowned to death but the final report, with chemical tests, will be much more helpful. Police hope to know more in the next few days.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.
While they insist that the victims’ father is the murderer, police have not come any closer to making an arrest in the case where three sisters were found dead in a water trough in their home.
Initially, they were positive that, once the girls’ mother, Aneesa Bibi, returned from her hometown, she would file a statement implicating her husband, Sher Mohammad, and the case would be settled. However, Aneesa opted to defend her husband, taking the investigation back to square one. Now, she too is a suspect in what the police are certain is a murder case. The chemical examination report is due in two weeks and, if the girls’ test positive for poison or drugs, the police will have something to go on.
The three sisters were found dead in a pond, 2.5 feet deep, inside their house in Orangi Town on Saturday.
Investigators say that they have recorded the statements of at least seven people including the victims’ father, mother, brother, other relatives and neighbours but none of the statements threw anyone in the family, particularly Sher Mohammad, under suspicion.
“We thought the mother’s statement would help us probe the case but that didn’t happen,” DSP Tariq Malik told The Express Tribune. “We are trying to create a rift between the victims’ parents in the hope that they will start talking.”
The officer quoted Aneesa as saying her husband is innocent and was not involved in the murders.
The victims’ brother also told the police that he was asleep when the incident took place while the neighbours and relatives did not seem to have noticed any dispute among the parents, especially over the disability of their daughters.
The police had initially suspected only the father as the mother was out of town. After recording Aneesa’s statement defending their prime suspect, however, they feel she is involved too. DSP Malik said that it appears that the parents planned and executed the murder carefully which is why Aneesa was away when they were killed.
“It appears that it was the father who killed (two of) them because of their affliction with polio,” said the DSP. “However there are two possible reasons for killing the third girl. Firstly, she too had slight symptoms of polio. It is also possible that she saw them murdering the other two.”
The initial examination report confirmed that the girls drowned to death but the final report, with chemical tests, will be much more helpful. Police hope to know more in the next few days.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.